extravagance in St. Francis' lovi ol ]...\ , 1 1\ . 1 Int. was also a permanent moral iil'a tin -nuiili- life.' We cannot horp disfu-^- t);i- ilaini,-- or con- ditions or limitations 111 lint \ it with reverence in so iv:it a Still further, Ave must 1. r,,-iiiz.- in St. Francis' joy the influences of ruiiiajuc. ' Fuverty ' was liis dear 'bride.' It was not for nothing that he lived in the days of chivalry . We recognize, too, the buoyancy of youth ; St. Francis ' entered religion '
ut we greet s our Saint. Francis'
erty '
at 25, and died at 44. These are accessories— inno- cent and touching accessories — at which Chris- tianity may smile, but certainly Avill not frown. The centre lies deeper. Who can doubt that Christ's own joy dwelt in St. Francis? (3) He was a servant of his fellow-men. Here in part he inherited from the Church. Tlie first ascetics were hermits, living in solitude ; but the social instinct, guided by the sagacity of Church rulers, crept after the solitaries, drew theui into union, placed them under rule, and in many cases set them to useful work. The two great orders of friars, Dominicans as well as Franciscans, were preachers. But, besides preaching, St. Francis and all his followers who really shared his spirit were helpers of men in their needs and miseries ; a very genuine part of the pattern set by Clirist. (4) The order of Tertiaries — semi-Frtnx i,-(aii>, im-n or women, living in the world ; not < '■■ /- /-/ '/■/ -' /" vdibacy — was a gallant attempt to mill ii 11 1/1- tin- .li^tinction between the two moralities, and tn make personal Chris- tianity, as St. Francis had discovered it, available for non-ascetics. Here then we see the Cliristianity of imitation at its very best (but, as we have noted, it is more than imitation). St. Francis' Chris- tianity is an all-round thing — living, attractive, strong, serviceable, joyous. Why could he not reform the Church bj' his indirect influence? Perhaps he was too sweet. Perhaps the lingering taint of the theory of two ca.stes and two moralities frustrated him. Again, external poverty might not be in others what it was in St. Francis, the vehicle of simplicity and .spiritual joy. Most obvi- ously, extemd poverty broke down — even Francis- cans evaded the full sacrifice. It is little shame to have failed in a region where no one wholly succeeds. Yet we must note that where St. Francis failed, Luther triumphed.
3. Monasticism has left us a literary monu- ment of a kindred type of Christianity ; one of the Church's and one of the world's classics ; k Kempis' work known by the [historically doubt- ful] name, TIi6 Imitation of Christ. As long as human sorrow endures, and faith is not dead among men, this book will be treasured and held in reverence. Clirist died on the cross ; we must accept a crucifying, a denying, an abnegation of self and self-wiQ. There the message of the book stops. Our fellow-men, even our Christian breth- ren, are only thought of as hindrances to Divine conimunioa, tempters who threaten to impede our sanctification. AKempisfallsfarbclnwSt. Fr.mds, who served men for Christ's sake «ith tviLcer
■ s.^l.Ti-
loyalty. The dangerous one-sidednis- ous lii'iok is not due to externalizinu amiilr. l-xt.-iiiallv .-veil, the C.m..-
■hri>ts
the (;,.-|.el> r.diuke it
nire. And tin' 1 k i> Hot external.
al depth and inwaidne-s. Mysticism
the ("hristiaii sjnrit i> it^ strength. ■ts which mar it lie no less deep, ■formation abolished the ' higher ' iseeticism, with its imitation of such uiiistames in tlie life of our Lord as ir Hi- relil.aiy. I Inlinary lay Chris- s.eii t.i in\cil\e a 'more perfect' an the will wui-hiji of the monk. \ of l.utliei lia> ealli'd in question his rh |ioiiiis : liut tliere can be no doubt Mil the i)riiici)ile, however lus remarks
>liciw tlie ilistorting influence of the Hlition\. It is also to he recognized
the I'.inllln. (,o-,„d o, lie. e,o- r/,,,\7 ,/,Vrf/«,. lis ha. I h-- rerepiucn..-- loi ih.. thought of ChiisLs e.xaiiiple, ii. seNeial ot Us loriiis. Kitschl anil some other modern Protestants even assert that Christ's example amounts to no more than faultless fulfilment of vocation — a vocation very
IMMANENCE
IMMANENCE
781
different from ours. Tliis paradox belongs to the art. 'Example' rather than to tlie present artiele. What we have to insist n|"in is this— Clirist c.ni- not be truly followed by imi/filnii/ Ilim ui ij/,-nii'/s. But has the NT erred'/ II. ■ who wns -reato^t humbled Himself; the M^.m.t ..t nil served; the one perfectly innocentsnflciri in .ill lii^-tory forgave ungrudgingly; He laid down Mi- I i 1 1 > for us, that we might lay down oui [i\v> loi oiliers (Ph 2'^"^ Jn 13", Mt 20=«, 1 P 2-1, Lk 2a-"', 1 Jn 3«). Can this wonderful many-sided example be exchanged for a dry scholastic formula like 'fidelity to a vocation ' ? We have to be on our guard lest Pro- testantism, with its rediscovery of the gospel of God's love, and with its repudiation of false (mon- a.stic) coiui-ptioiis ol the higher life, should blur at some points that nicjral claim which is, in truth, high as heaven — high as Christ Himself.
S. Asceticism is an obsolete danger in modern Protestant circles ; yet it is possible that the tendency to ' imitation ' may take other forms. The socialistic reading of Christ's woids — social- ism crossed with crazy altruism ; anarchistic social- ism or socialistic anarchism ; extremes meet !— is primarily a wooden way of conceiving Christ's teaching, just as imitation is a wooden way of following Christ's example. If we rise into the region of Christian principle, both dangers vanish. But there is a more subtle connexion between ideas of imitation and a false programme for the Clrristian life. Many schemes of the Atonement {e.g. the late Dr. Moberly's) tell us in substance that Christ initiated a process — to Dr. Moberly, a penitential process of self-mortiflcation ; to others, a process of world-redeeming love — which Chris- tians must prolong. This is substantially imita- tion over again. We are to be saved by 'bein" such men as He was, too.' The Pauline and Protestant gospel tells us that Christ offered and finished the great sacrifice. We may well recoil from the old vulgar train of thought described by M'Leod Campbell: 'He suffered — I shall not suffer ' ; but God forbid we should dream that we share, in all respects and for every purpose, the lot of Christ. We fill up remaining suffering — if we are found worthy — but we do not fill out an uncom- pleted Atonement; that was 'finished,' once and for all, in mysterious anguish, in agony out of which springs our new life. We have not fully un- learned the dreary external lirogramme of imita- tion till we confess Christ unambiguously as our life and our only hope. We are to resemble Him, partly as the younger born resemble the elder brother, partly as the saved resemble the Saviour. Confessing this, we are prepared to learn those further things He has to teach us about the ways of conformity to His image. Protestantism is to be developed or supplemented, but must not be abolished. Christian ethics presuppose the Chris- tian gospel. They can never take its place.